India-US talks
Discussed human rights with Indian ministers as valuable partners: US Defence Secretary General Lloyd Austin
New Delhi/IBNS: US Secretary of Defence General Lloyd Austin has said he has spoken to ministers in the Indian government about the human rights of minorities.
Asked if he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about "violations of human rights especially against Muslim minorities in the northeast", General Austin said, "I did not have an opportunity to talk with him about that. I did have a conversation with other members of the cabinet on this issue," stated an NDTV report.
"We have to remember that India is our partner, a partner whose partnership we value. And I think partners need to be able to have those kinds of discussions. And certainly, we feel comfortable doing that. And you can have those discussions in a very meaningful way and make progress," he added.
On a question by NDTV over the letter of Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in which he has raised issues like farm protests, abrogation of Article 370, CAA and accused the Indian government of using sedition laws to persecute political opponents and intimidating journalists and government critics for opposing farm laws, General Austin said, "You've heard President [Joe] Biden say that human rights and rule of law are important to the United States of America. We always lead with our values. As a democracy that's pretty important to us. India is a democratic country and you treasure your values as well. There are a number of things that we can and will work on together."
General Austin's visit to India, first one by a top member of the Biden administration, is aimed at deepening the US-India security ties.
His visit comes as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between countries of Quad, a grouping of Japan, India, Australia and United States to deter China's growing assertiveness.
On his arrival on Friday, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
He met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday.
After meeting the defence minister, he said, "India, in particular, is an increasingly important partner among today's rapidly shifting international dynamics."
His two-day visit to India ends on Sunday.
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